Hello Again
by Elven Kitten
Summary: 2) Aragorn and Legolas meet up again... not exactly in a happy way... FINISHED!
1. Chapter 1

~*~Chapter 1~*~  
  
"Legolas!" The short elf gently shook the Prince of Mirkwood, "Wake up! A band of orcs has been spotted heading towards the high pass."  
  
"I'm already awake Raenan," the elf answered, focusing his eyes on the elf kneeling next to him. He slowly stood up and glanced around their camp.   
Most of the elves were still asleep up in the trees, "we will follow them and find out why they are headed that way, wake up the rest."  
  
The short elf nodded and went to wake up all the sleeping elves.  
  
  
  
The young Ranger glanced up at the sky. It was dark now; the small band of orcs he was following would be out soon. Just as he expected, the orcs began marching out of the cave. The larger ones at the front pushing aside the snow for the smaller ones, growling as they did so. Aragorn stood from   
where he sat and hid himself until they were out of sight, then he began following their extremely easy-to-follow trail. He had been following them for quite a while, two days through the pass and two days before that. They should be through the pass in about an hour or so.  
  
  
  
"There they are," Raenan whispered, glancing quickly at Legolas.  
  
Legolas nodded and looked around, the area the orcs were in was a large clearing, and all around it were tall trees. The elf Prince put his hand in the air to catch his troops attention and then pointed up to the trees and pull his had in a circle, pointing at the clearing. The others nodded and started to make their way around the clearing. Moving soundlessly, as an elf can, they got around and up into the trees without the dark creatures noticing them. Once up they all looked to the Prince for their next move. Legolas nodded once, drew his bow and notched it. The other elves followed his example and did the same. He drew the arrow back nodded once more and they all let their arrows fly.  
  
The rest of the group looked down at their fallen members and turned and ran into the bushes, knowing they were outnumbered and there were more coming through the pass towards them, they would probably head back through the high pass then down to Isenguard. They went through the pass and down because they would rather go near Rivendell than Lorien. Following Legolas, the elves jumped down from their trees and started following the orcs.  
  
  
  
- What? – The Ranger thought, - why did they stop? -  
  
The orcs had stopped, though it was still the middle of the night. This made no sense to the human but he shrugged and settled down, waiting for them to move on. He glanced around warily, he didn't like this area, it didn't show enough protection and he could easily be seen if one of the vile creatures decided to go for a walk. He climbed up into one of the few trees in the area and closed his eyes. He wasn't going to sleep, but his eyesight, though good for a human, was still not very good for the pitch-blackness of the middle of the night. His senses, though, were all very good and he took to listening for a while for the creatures were so loud they couldn't keep quiet if their lives depended on it. He sighed inwardly and listened to their babble, mainly about meeting up with a larger   
group. After a little while he felt himself drifting off to sleep, he tried to shake it but it had been a while since he last slept and he was very tired. Before he knew what had happened, he was asleep.  
  
^_^_^_^_^_^  
  
He was sitting on the edge of a bed, a sick woman lying beneath the warm covers. She was beginning to get old for a woman of her time and her body was failing her. It was only a couple years ago he'd found out his whole past, even now he had a hard time understanding it.  
  
"A-Aragorn?" the woman's voice whispered. She knew she was dieing and had come to terms with it, "remember, my son, that you are loved here, remember   
that I have always loved you and… and that your father… he, he loved you too."  
  
"I love you too mother," the young man whispered back, biting back his tears.  
  
With that she smiled slightly and lay back against the pillow of her bed. Her breathing became shallow and stopped.  
  
^_^_^_^_^_^  
  
Isildur's heir shot away from the trunk of the tree, completely forgetting where he was. Not sure of what was happening, he was on the ground before he remembered where he was. He pulled himself out of the mud on the ground… wait… mud?  
  
- Oh, great, - he thought, - it's been raining, - he looked at his hands and gasped, this wasn't mud, it was blood. That's what woke him up, orc screams… death gurgles more like it and evil laughter. He slowly raised his head to look at the orcs surrounding him. He slowly got to his knees and when one of the creatures took a step toward him, he jumped to his feed and drew his sword in one swift, almost graceful, movement.  
  
He lunged forward, impaling the one that stepped forward. He continued his battle, blocking, ducking, and striking. He knew it was a one-sided fight, but he wasn't one to go willingly. A few minutes later, or what seemed to be an eternity to the young Ranger, he was pushed to the ground. He did quite well for one who was so tired.  
  
His hands were tied tightly behind his back and he was dragged back up to his feet. Another length of rope was brought out and he was tied to the tree he fell out of.  
  
One of the orcs drew an odd blade and pressed it against the Ranger's neck, "I suggests that you doesn't do nothing funny human," it spat before pulling the blade away, leaving a shallow gash under his chin, causing his blood to slowly trickle for his neck.  
  
Another orc stepped up and pulled a long piece of black cloth and brought it around the human's neck, covering the gash.

"We must stop the bleeding, or better yet, why don't we just choke him?" he growled pulling the cloth so tight the Ranger could barely breath and in a few seconds began gasping, 

"Listen to it!" he seemed almost delighted. "It sounds like a fish out of water it does!"  
  
The first orc came back up and pulled the cloth from the Ranger's neck, "if I wanted him dead I could've done it myself."  
  
The Ranger's breath steadied quickly. Any fear could only be seen by someone who knew how to look for it in the depths of the Ranger's seemingly emotionless eyes. He gazed steadily at the orc before him. The creature just growled and looked up at the sky. He muttered something in the black speech and the rest of the band headed towards the nearest cave.  
  
"If you survive the day, I'll have my fun with you, but don't try to escape, we'll know."  
  
The Ranger continued to stare at the orc and when it angrily stomped off towards the cave he gave a quiet sigh of relief only an elf could've heard. After a while, the adrenaline left his body at his momentary peace and he fell limp, asleep, hung there from the tree.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
When the Ranger woke up he could have kicked himself, he should have been trying to escape, he wondered if he could fray the rope around his wrists by rubbing it against the ruff bark of the tree. He grinned when the rope finally split. He pulled it off and took off, away from the cave.  
  
Just when he thought he was safe, he felt a sharp pain in the calve muscle on his right leg. Not able to support his weight anymore, the Ranger fell face first into the thin grass. The next thing he knew, he was being dragged, by a rope attached to the arrow, back towards the cave. He groaned as he was pulled, trying hard to ignore the pain.  
  
  
  
The group of elves moved through the trees silently, following the band of orcs that was not as big now as it once was, thanks to them. Legolas glanced around at his fair sized group of elves. If the orcs saw them, they could attack and defeat them, but he did not want to take that risk unless need be.  


The elves followed the fast-moving group easily through the trees. Moving swiftly, they realized the group was leaving the edge of the forest.  
  
  
  
The Ranger was forced against the back wall of the cave, "What do you want with me?" He muttered almost inaudibly.  
  
"That would depend on who you are," the orc nearest him said, "our master is looking for a certain Ranger, he is. We wants to know if you are that Ranger, we does."  
  
The human simply scowled, "You will not find out who I am."  
  
"No?" one orc came forward with a long, triple-thronged whip, "we'll just have to see about thats."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Tell us!" the orc wailed angrily. They had been torturing Aragorn all day, and they hadn't gotten a thing out of him.  
  
- Why can't I just black out? – He thought as the cruel torture weapon was brought down on his back yet again, he cursed himself for being so able to   
withstand this.  
  
The next thing he knew, he was turned around and a flask was shoved in his mouth, he tried to spit out the foul tasting liquid but the orc shoved his vile hand over his mouth and pinched his nose with the other, another came forward and punched him in the stomach, winding him. The human had to swallow the liquid in order to breathe. The human stumbled forward, the goop immediately taking effect on his weakened body. He fell to the ground and was left there.  
  
When he regained consciousness he was shoved against the wall and was asked who he was. The liquid was strong, but it was too weak for the Ranger and   
he didn't tell them. This resulted in getting another dose of the foul drink but this time he didn't lapse into unconsciousness. The orcs waited a while before trying again, but once again, he refused to tell them. After the third time, he was almost unable to stand and he felt forced to tell them so he told them his Ranger name, Strider. The orcs, of course, were not pleased and gave him another dose. This time his body was unable to take it and he fell into unconsciousness. When he woke, he told them his elvish name, Estel. That angered them even more, being an elvish word, for they hated the sound of the beautiful language and they forced a double-dose down him. This time when he fell into unconsciousness, he didn't waken for the rest of the day and most of that night, the last couple times, he was only out for fifteen to twenty minutes.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Who are you?" an angry orc voice asked when he finally woke up.  
  
"A-Aragorn," he said, then gasped, he couldn't keep himself from telling them.  
  
The orc smiled wickedly, "And are you the heir of Isildur?"  
  
"Y-yes," he was ashamed of himself for not being able to keep himself from telling them.  
  
The orc shouted something in the black speech that made all the others look at him wickedly. The human just scowled at him, "What was that evil you made me drink?" He managed to growl out through clenched teeth.  
  
The orc laughed wickedly, "Well, I suppose it would not hurt to tell yous. It is what you humans would call a type of truth serum."  
  
The human's scowl deepened, "_Amin feuya ten' lle_," he spat. // You disgust me, //  
  
The orc froze, "What?" he said angrily, the use of the, in their minds, 'evil' language.  
  
The human grinned evilly, "I said, you disgust me."  
  
With that he was punched in the face, slamming his head into the rock wall behind him and throwing his already weakened body into unconsciousness   
again.  
  
"We will wait for the other group," the orc that punched Aragorn said, "then we will head back through the high pass and to Isenguard."  
  
The other orcs nodded their approval at this idea.  
  
"Good, now, get some rest while you can, they will be here in about a day."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(One day later)  
  
Legolas looked around, the orcs they were following had wandered into a cave near the high pass. He nodded to his group and they went forward noiselessly, arrows notched and ready to fire.  
  
  
  
  
**Here are the replies from ch.5 of my last story!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep reading   
and review!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :):):):):):):)  
  
feanen- Thanx 4 the review! Glad it was still interesting!! :)  
  
Lomiothiel- ...Glad yur happy 'bout the sequel... obviously... and punching   
air is mean! :)  
  
Baxley- ch.1? *giggles* yur a bit behind :) I'm glad ya' enjoyed it!  
  
LalaithoftheBruinen- Yes, there obviously is a sequel... *looks around at   
bunnies running all over the floor in a panic* Note to self... keep cats out   
of room :)  
  
Sunnflowers- Ch. 4... sry I didn't reply sooner... already had sent the 5th   
ch. to my editor when ya' reviewed :) *laughs* glad it's interesting.  
  
*Huggles Estel* please R/R!!!!!!!!!!**

**__**

E/N: HEHEHEHE another one! Good job Elven!   



	2. Chapter 2

~*~Chapter 2~*~  
  
Legolas' troop had made its way to either side of the cave. With a nod from the Prince they leaped forward and started firing arrows into the dark cave.  
  
Aragorn had barely re-gained consciousness when there were suddenly yelp and cries all about him. He felt a sudden pain as he was hit in the shoulder with an arrow. His own yelp was drowned out by the cries of the orcs. He pulled out the arrow and used it to stab an orc in the back of the neck that had nearly stepped on him. He was still unable to use his right leg so he sat there, hoping he would not be shot again. After a minute or two, the loss of blood from the arrow wound and the infection in the whip cuts that had been left untreated and his wooziness from the vile liquid seemed to grow worse and he slowly drifted once again into unconsciousness.  
  
  
  
The elves finally stopped their shooting when the cries stopped and slowly moved into the cave. They quickly checked all the bodies, making sure they were all dead. A sudden yelp from Raenan stopped them all in their tracks. Legolas turned swiftly and ran over to where his friend was. He gasped at the sight.  
  
"Aragorn," he muttered. The human was slumped against the wall of the cave. Legolas gave a cry when he saw the blood running down from his left shoulder and a bloodied elven arrow clutched loosely in his hand. He quickly felt for his pulse and sighed in relief when he found a weak but fast pulse. He could barely feel it but it was there and it was going much to fast for his comfort. His breathing was coming in quick shallow gasps as well. He carefully lifted the human and brought him out of the dirty, stuffy cave with Raenan following closely behind. He realized with a start that the human was stripped from the waist up. He cleaned out the arrow wound and bandaged it. He turned him onto his stomach and winced, the welts along his back were bloody and looked as though they were becoming infected. The elf shook his head sadly and sighed. He cleaned the would with some herbs to bring down the pain and infection and then left him for a minute with Raenan to see if he could find any of the human's belonging's.  
  
When he came back, he had his pack and cloak. Surprisingly his cloak was fine, but his pack was another story, it was torn to shreds, but he managed to pull out a blanket and some lambas bread that the orcs did not like and did not touch. He took a spare tunic from his own pack and managed to get it on the human. Legloas was glad that the young Ranger was still about the same size as he was. After that he pulled on his cloak and wrapped him in the blanket. The cold of the night did not bother the elf, but he knew the man probably found it a bit cold. He rolled up his own cloak and laid it under his head. Then sat back and rested. He did not sleep though; he stayed up to watch the human.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
In the middle of the night, the elf was half asleep, well, more like three quarters of the way there; they had not rested much while following the orcs as it was kind of hard to sleep in the bright sun. Being so tired, his senses were dulled and he did not realize that the human beside him had awoken.  
  
- What happened? – Aragorn thought with a start when he saw the elf, then it slowly came back to him, he looked up at the elf and realized that he was asleep. The glazed, unfocused look in his eyes told him that. He moved slowly and quietly, he pulled the tunic out from under his head and laid it where he could reach it. He slowly laid the elf back and pushed the rolled up tunic under his head.  
  
He then lay back on his stomach beside the sleeping elf and pulled the blanket back up around his shoulder, maneuvering it slightly at the side so he could lay his head on it as well, instead of laying in the dirt. He sighed slightly and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.  
  
The elf looked over, the quiet sigh and movement had awoken him. He smiled at the Ranger and lay down to sleep, resting a hand on the human's back so   
that if anything happened during the night, he would know.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Aragorn woke up and was about to stand when he felt the slight weight on his back. He froze, then slowly looked around for something to attack with when he found his gaze resting on his weapons right beside him. He grabbed his sword and, in one quick motion, had it up and under the, now fully awakened, elf's chin. The human saw the surprise and fear in his eye's but   
masked it quickly.  
  
- I have only met this human once, and though he seemed kind I was obviously mistaken, - he scowled at the man.  
  
Suddenly the human dropped his sword to his side, his memories of the last day flooding back to him. He stared at the elf with barely concealed fear and surprise, much like the one the elf had before.  
  
That was not enough to fool the elf though. He could see the look in Estel's eyes and calmed a bit, - I probably just startled him. –  
  
As the adrenaline in his system wore off, the Ranger fell to his knees on the ground, using a tree for support. He suddenly felt very sore… everywhere. His head was swimming, his shoulder and leg wounds burned badly and the whip lashes on his back screamed at him when anything touched them.  
  
"I'm so sorry," the man whispered, he couldn't believe what just happened.  
  
The elf calmed down completely, the apology was genuine and he could tell. He dropped down next to him, "Do not worry about it _mellonamin_." //my   
friend. //  
  
"Friend?" Aragorn asked, looking up slowly, he snorted in disgust, "friend's do not threaten to kill each other."  
  
"It was an accident, I understand, I must have startled you, it was my own fault… are you okay?"  
  
"No," the answer startled him when he said it.  
  
Legolas blinked in surprise, he knew the Ranger was a stubborn one… so why did he admit it?  
  
The Ranger looked down at the ground, disgusted by his weakness. How could he admit that? He'd had worse injuries before and wouldn't admit to them, not even to his brothers. Then it hit him, it was that stupid goop the orcs poured down his throat, that 'truth serum' or whatever. It must still be working.  
  
"What's wrong?" Legolas asked, concerned.  
  
Aragorn groaned, "My shoulder and leg burn, my head is making me dizzy and my back, I swear, is trying to kill me."  
  
"Why are you answering me? I thought you were a stubborn one," Legolas said.  
  
"I am stubborn," Aragorn answered, "and those darned orcs gave me some kind of truth serum type thing… and it's starting to bug me."  
  
"We should get you back to Imladris." (Imladris is the elven name for Rivendell.)  
  
"Yes, I suppose so," he sighed.  
  
"Good, can you stand?"  
  
"Yes, barely," he admitted. With that, they began their journey to Rivendell.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The human stumbled and winced. He'd been trying to hide his weariness for a while now and was relieved to see that Legolas was watching him just then and was glad for the noise the other elves were making for once. They were about half way through the high pass. The noise was making the Ranger's headache worse but it hid the sound of his stumble so, for once, he was glad of it.  
  
The elf glanced over at him, he could see the man's limp getting worse and, though he hid it well, he could also see that he winced with each step on his wounded leg. He wished he could get a glimpse of the Ranger's leg but he hid it with his long cloak. Legolas sighed, turned forward again and focused on where he was going. Legolas motioned for Raenan to get onto the man's other side, should he stumble or fall. That way they would be ready to catch him.  
  
In about an hour, the Ranger stumbled again, but caught himself and angrily pushed away the two elves that jumped forward to help him.  
  
"Listen, we should rest for a while," Raenan said softly, he hadn't trusted the human at first but he was beginning to and he knew that Legolas trusted him, so he had decided to give the man a chance. Reluctantly, the Ranger gave in and nodded.  
  
  
  
"_Adar_?" Elladan stood in the doorway leading out to his father's balcony, "what is wrong?" // Father? //  
  
Elrond sighed, "I have been having bad feeling's, I believe something ill has befallen Estel. Though it has been getting better, I do not know whether that is good, or bad."  
  
"I have begun to have those feeling's as well _adar_," Elladan said quietly, "me and Elrohir both."  
  
Elrond nodded, still staring out into the slowly darkening sky.  
  
"If it would make you feel better," said a new voice suddenly, causing the other two elves to jump slightly, "I can go out and look for them."  
  
"Oh! By the Valar Glorfindel," Elladan exclaimed, "you scared the crap out of us… I hate it when you do that."  
  
Glorfindel laughed, "yes, but I've become quite good at it. I will go out to look for Estel, though, if you wish."  
  
Elrond nodded, "Yes, if you have time."  
  
"Me and Elladan will come to," Elrohir stated from the rooms doorway.  
  
Elladan nodded, "Yes, we will."  
  
"Good," Glorfindel said, "I will go and get the horses ready, you two go and pack."  
  
"Shouldn't you pack as well Glor?" Elrohir asked.  
  
Glorfindel just smiled, "I already have."  
  
  
  
Aragorn had already fallen asleep; he did as soon as they laid him down. Legolas had just finished cleaning his wounds and turned to Raenan.  
  
"I do not understand why the orcs wanted him so badly, or to know who he was so bad that they resorted to giving him a truth serum," Legolas finally said the thing that had been bothering him.  
  
"Yes, I've been wondering the same thing," the shorter elf replied, "you should ask him when the orc goop wears off, you don't want him forced to tell you something if he doesn't want to… or you could ask if he would mind telling you first."  
  
Legolas nodded slowly, "I suppose, I wonder if he even knows why."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I think he's waking up Legolas," Raenan called to the elf who was just across the camp, "now's your chance to ask him."  
  
"Chance to ask me what?" the Ranger asked curiously.  
  
"Well," Legolas started, "I was wondering if you'd mind telling me why the orcs wanted to know who you were so badly."  
  
Aragorn sighed, then he glanced at Raenan, "No offence Raenan, but, if I am to tell, then I wish only to tell one at a time, I want to know how Legolas reacts before I tell anyone else."  
  
Raenan nodded and walked away.  
  
"Well," the Ranger started, obviously uneasy about telling the elf that seemed to hate all humans so much, he wasn't sure how the elf would take to him after he found out about his lineage, "they wanted me killed, I do not know who their master was, but he wanted me killed. If you must know I'm…" he paused and glanced up at the elf, then closed his eyes.  
  
"You're what?" the elf asked, looking down at the Ranger on the ground. He knelt beside him and cocked his head to the side slightly.  
  
The man took a deep breath, "as you know, Ranger's are the last of the Númenóreans. Well, I… they are looking for the last of Isildur's heir's."  
  
"Really?" Legolas asked, "Do you know who the descendant of that… man… is?" He sneered slightly at the mention of Isildur's name and the word 'man'.  
  
"Yes," the Ranger said quietly, the sneer was not lost on the young human, "in fact I know him very well."  
  
"Do you?" the elf asked, "Despite the little love I have for his line, we must protect him, as he is the hope of man."  
  
Aragorn looked down, "Yes."  
  
"Do you have any clue where he is?"  
  
Aragorn looked back up at him slowly, "I know exactly where he is."  
  
"Well then, we should find him," the elf started, "I guess."  
  
- I don't like the way this is going, - the Ranger thought, - he obviously has about as much love for my line as I do. -  
  
"Well, if we are to protect him, we must find him, where is he?" Legolas looked down at the human.  
  
The human looked straight at the elf and sighed sadly.  
  
Legolas looked surprised for a minute but covered it, - why is there so   
much distress in his eyes? –  
  
"Look, I'm sorry if I said something wrong," Legolas said, resting a hand on the man's good shoulder.  
  
"No… it… it's not that," Aragorn whispered quietly.  
  
"Well then, what's the matter?"  
  
The heir of Isildur took a deep breath and closed his eyes, not willing to see the look on the elf's face when he told him, - how do I get myself into these things? –  
  
"Estel?"  
  
"I'm…" he started, "I am Isildur's heir."  
  
  
  
  
  
**A/N**  
  
  
  
**Niani- Thanx 4 da' review... I'll try to fix it but... I've never really actually BEEN in middle-earth so ya' gotta forgive me if it's a bit too modern.  
  
Lomiothiel- I mean u could hurt the air... wait... that makes no sense... BUT IT'S STILL MEAN! I think... YES IT IS!! I'm confuzled... glad it   
intersting:) Peace out!!!!  
  
leggylover03- Evil AND good!? WOW!!!! Special me :) glad ya' like it!  
  
mascara freak- YES!!!!!!! I'v finally hooked someone... well.. someone who's admitting it :):):)  
  
feanen- Ooooooooh... niiiiiiccccccce... :)  
  
LalaithoftheBruinen- Goody! Someone not picky!!!!!!! Some people are to picky... *pouts* -_- I didn't just do that... *Closes door after putting   
cat out and releases new bunnies* *glances around room full of bunnies* ... I'm gonna need a bigger room...^_^  
  
lizard13z- *hides sword behind back* I"M NOT KILLIN' NO ONE!!!!!!!!!!! I SWEAR!!!!!!!!! :)  
  
Oracle10- *bounces around too* Me hyper too!!!!!!!!! Here's an update 4 ya'!  
  
Thanx again 4 posting 4 me AoD!!!!!!!!!!!  
**

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E/N: Sorry this took so long to put up…(runs from the rocks thrown at her) My email died after Ek sent this to me. :P anyway, here you go, be happy!  



	3. Chapter 3

~*~Chapter 3~*~  
  
Legolas' eyes grew wide, his mouth agape.  
  
- Oh great, - he thought, - no wonder he looked so upset, and after all those things I just said about his lineage! How could I not have known? Aragorn, son of Arathorn and Gilraen. I am an idiot! Why didn't Elladan and Elrohir warn me? Well I should have known! Estel… the hope of man! Duh! They still should have known that if the subject came up I would end up saying something I regret! -  
  
Aragorn, mistaking the silence, weakly got to his feet and turned to leave. Angrily trying to blink back the tears threatening to overtake the young Ranger. Angry at his weakness, angry at his lineage.  
  
He grabbed his pack from the ground and shouldered it on his good side. He quickly, well, as quickly as his wounded leg would let him, strode of into the early morning.  
  
The elf sat there, dumbfounded, he did not even realize that the man had left until he went to reassure him that he did not care about his lineage, that he found him a friend no matter who his father and fore-fathers were. He jumped when he realized that he wasn't there, and when he went back to camp, all the elves were staring in the direction he had gone.  
  
Legolas quickly went after him, for once thankful that the man's injured leg prevented him from moving quickly.  
  
The Ranger sighed into the blue sky and said quietly, "Why me? Why did I have to be part of this line?"  
  
"Estel!" Legolas ran up to the human, glad to have found him, "thank the Valar I found you!"  
  
"Why?" Aragorn asked flatly.  
  
Legolas looked at him, "Listen, I don't know why you left back there, but I came to tell you that no matter what your lineage is, you'll always be welcome as my friend, and to tell you I'm sorry for what I said."  
  
Aragorn looked at him for a minute then started to laugh, "don't be sorry, I actually feel the same way… almost, I'm not thrilled about my lineage at all."  
  
Legolas sighed in relief, "So you forgive me?"  
  
Aragorn smiled, "There is nothing to forgive."  
  
"Look, I wont tell anyone if you don't want me to, but I think that you should rest until your healed."  
  
"I'll make you a deal," Aragorn said, "we'll get through the high pass so that we don't get stuck here before it snows and we'll wait in the forest on the other side."  
  
"Deal," Legolas smiled, "it should only take you a day or two for the wounds to heal enough for you to use them. I believe I have some herbs to speed the healing as well."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Finally," Raenan said as they emerged out of the high pass into a meadow, it was slightly dead where they were but it got better as they went until they finally found the forest.  
  
Aragorn sighed and sat up against a tree. His injury was getting better really fast, the herbs Legolas had given him, combined with the fact that he had some elven blood running in him, caused the injuries to be able to heal faster that usual. He was beginning to calm down when suddenly all his senses were piqued. He looked over at Legolas to see that he was listening to.  
  
"Yrch," the man mouthed, Legolas nodded and drew his bow.  
  
Everyone else in the camp did the same. And aimed in different directions, knowing they were surrounded. Suddenly a rustle of leaves caught their attention and they all started firing. There were screeches and yelps everywhere. Then, as quick as it started, it was finished. They all spread out to check the bodies.  
  
A moan to the right of the human caught his attention, he swiftly notched his bow and crept up to the tree that it came from, he whirled around to the other side of the tree and just barely kept himself from shooting someone he wouldn't want to. The human snickered at the elf sitting there.  
  
"It seems I've got you again brother," Aragorn smiled wickedly. Elrohir just made a face.  
  
Suddenly the human caught sight of the blood running down his brother's arm and his wicked smile turned to one of concern and he dropped his bow, "Are   
you okay?"  
  
Elrohir glared at the man, "I was shot in the arm."  
  
"Well, obviously, let me see."  
  
The elf rolled his eyes and showed the man his arm. He had already taken out the arrow and had been putting pressure on it. Aragorn pulled a pouch out of his pocket and handed it to his brother, "Here."  
  
The elf sniffed the contents and smiled. He pulled out a small amount of the Athelas plant and gently pushed them into the wound, then tore off a piece of his tunic and wound it around the wound, pulling it tight.  
  
"Thanks," the elf smiled, then he frowned as he noticed Aragorn's own injuries, "what happened?"  
  
"I was captured by orcs," the man answered, "and they probably would still have me if Legolas hadn't been tracking another group that ended up joining the one that captured me… they were searching for me," he added quietly.  
  
Elrohir stood up and looked at his brother carefully, "You seem okay now," he said slowly, "let's get back to where Legolas is waiting for you."  
  
Aragorn nodded, "You can go if you want, tell _ada_ I'm okay. We should be home soon." // dad //  
  
Elrohir looked at his younger brother for a moment then sighed, "alright,are you sure you're okay?"  
  
Aragorn rolled his eyes, "Yes, I'm fine, just go, I'll see you in a day or two."  
  
Elrohir nodded and walked off.  
  
Aragorn continued checking his area, and then went back; still amused that someone managed to hit his brother.  
  
Legolas saw his amused look and raised an eyebrow.  
  
The Ranger smiled and walked over, "Guess what I found."  
  
Legolas, eyebrow still raised, asked, "Do I want to know?"  
  
"Elrohir, someone hit him with an arrow… I wonder who?" He asked with a wicked yet innocent grin.  
  
Legolas blinked in surprise and laughed, "Where is he?"  
  
"I sent him back to Imladris so someone can look at that wound."  
  
The grinning elf nodded, "Come on then 'Prince Aragorn' we should pack up and head to Imladris."  
  
Aragorn groaned, "Please do not call me that, I never called you that."  
  
"Alright," the elf said, "I wont if you don't like it."  
  
"If I did I would have asked you to call me that."  
  
"Okay, I get the point."  
  
Laughing, the human sat against a tree, "Well, pack. My stuff already was packed up… you need help?"  
  
"I think I can pack up my own stuff," the now annoyed elf growled.  
  
"Okay, okay, I was just joking, sheesh." The human rolled his eyes and smiled.  
  
"There," the elf said after a couple minutes. He turned around towards where the Ranger had been but he was no longer there. He stared, confused, to where the ranger was before. The slight rustle of leaves alerted him and he looked up into the branches of the tree above him, and SPLASH! That was the last thing he'd expected, he stood there, soaked. He heard a light thump behind him and turned to look at the Ranger, who had this very guilty expression on his face.  
  
"What happened?" Aragorn said, trying his best to keep the mirth out of his eyes and voice.  
  
"You know well enough what happened, and you shouldn't be eager to see the consequences… in fact, I suggest you run," with that the elf jumped at the   
Ranger who quickly bounced back, just barely avoiding the elf. He laughed out loud and took another step back, waiting for the elf to regain his footing, what he didn't expect was for the elf to grab his ankle and pull his foot out from under him. With a yelp the Ranger fell backwards. He jumped to his feet and as the elf did the same, the human tripped him again, but this time he danced just out of reach and laughed at the elf again.  
  
"I am going to kill you human," the elf spat, he looked angry but the man could see the mirth in his eyes. That only made the man laugh harder and when the elf got to his feet and started towards him the human stopped his laughter and took off into the forest, heading for the clearing. When he reached it he stopped and turned around to see how far behind the elf was. Surprisingly, he could not see him. He stared into the trees when all of a sudden he was knocked over and pushed to the ground. He let out an embarrassingly loud yelp and fell to the ground. He twisted around and looked up at the elf who was smiling at him wickedly. The elf opened his mouth to speak when all of a sudden, they heard a loud whinny of distress.  
  
  
  
A/N  
  
  
LalaithoftheBruinen- Glad ya' like! Flowers?... hmmm... OH! I KNOW!   
*feeds to bunnies* NOW THEY'LL STOP TRYING TO EAT MY LEGS! *whispers* thank you soooooooooo much! :) Thanx 4 the umm... preview?... anywho, I'll be sure to look it up!  
  
Lomiothiel- ...ummmmmmmmmmmmmm... true... but... oh I give up!!!!!!!!!!!! you win!!!!! You can not hurt air!!!!!!!! *sobs* I guess *sighs* ... But... if u can't hit it... then why did u say u punched it? Ha! I take it back! U soooooooooo do not win yet! :)  
  
marbienl- Glad ya liked my last story! *giggles* not happy wit dat at all, obviously...:):)...Hmmm... burst out laughing... that'd be a good idea if I hadn't already written the chapter... I might have used it!!!! I'll have to look into yur stories... they're probably awesome! Glad u love um!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
feanen- Still good!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!! *grins* Reaction indeed... what'd ya think of that reaction?  
  
*pouts* only 4????? *sighs* Oh well... maybe more this time?  
  
I wrote this on my description, but, like, who actually reads those, right? So I'll re-write it...Anyone who is willing to help, can you PLEASE give me some ideas for pranks in your reviews. THANX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
READ AND REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Thank you Agent of Darkness for editing and posting my stories 4 me! And good luck wit' da' new story yur workin' on!


	4. Chapter 4

~*~Chapter 4~*~  
  
The Ranger jumped up and gazed off to where the sound had come from. Suddenly a beautiful white horse came flying out of the trees and would have gone straight past them, on towards Rivendell.  
  
"_Daro Asfaloth, daro_!" Aragorn called to the horse. // Stop…, stop!" //  
  
The horse slowed to a trembling stop and flicked his ears in recognition when he looked and the human. Legolas looked at Aragorn curiously but the man wasn't paying attention, he walked up to the horse, whispering to him gently in Elvish. The horse slowly stopped his trembling and walked slowly over to the approaching Ranger and, realizing his companion was an elf, calmed considerably.  
  
The elf walked up to the horse slowly, "Who's horse?"  
  
"Asfaloth is Glorfindel's horse," the human answered, "I think I must have spooked him," the human grinned wickedly, "and Glorfindel is going to hate me after I tell everyone he was thrown off his horse."  
  
Legolas shook his head and was about to respond when they heard the thumping of heavy boots and the rustling of leaves. What came out of the bushes was the last thing they expected and quickly drew and aimed their bows at the weird creature.  
  
It was tall and slimy looking brown thing. Aragorn and Legolas were staring wide-eyed at the creature as it froze in its tracks, dripping. The two shook involuntarily and drew the arrows. The creature looked kind of like a tall, slimy brown orc. It took a step back and raised its hands (if that's what you would call them) in the air, showing defeat. It looked as if it tried to say something but ended up with a mouth-full of the brown goop instead. It spat the goop out and took a slow step forwards. The two tightened their grip on the bows and Legolas sent his arrow whistling in front of the thing, trying to tell it to back off. The creature jumped in surprise and took a step back, shaking its head, it looked to Asfaloth and the horse stared back for a moment. Suddenly he let out a whinny of recognition and walked towards the thing. Aragorn jumped and caught the horse before he took off.  
  
"Mani ta Asfaloth?" the Ranger whispered. // What is it //  
  
The white horse whinnied again and pulled forward. Aragorn glanced at Legolas, clearly telling him to stay put. Legolas gave him a questioning look and was answered when the Ranger allowed the horse to lead him towards the creature. The elf took a step forward but reluctantly stopped when Aragorn glared back at him. The human carefully stepped forward with the horse but stopped about five meters away from the thing. It tried to say something but choked on the goop again. It stood for a moment then seemed to reach into itself and drew out a goop-covered sword. The Ranger jumped and swiftly drew his own sword. The creature froze and turned the sword hilt first towards the man, then laid it on the ground and backed up four meters, then, to prove it wasn't going to try anything, it sat down. Aragorn told Asfaloth to stay put, who reluctantly did so, dancing in place, head high. Then the man slowly walked forward, eyes never leaving the thing in front of him. He quickly picked up the goop-covered sword and retreated back to where Asfaloth danced impatiently. He pulled a cloth from his pack and swiftly wiped the goop off the sword. When the human was done he blinked in amazement as he studied the sword, then, taking a sample of the goop examined it and a smile quickly covered his face. He motioned for Legolas to come closer who did so. The elf quickly ran up to the human and   
looked down at the sword the man was holding.  
  
"Ai!" Legolas exclaimed, "'tis an elven sword!"  
  
Aragorn looked up at him, trying hard not to laugh as he explained, "Of course it is, 'tis mud covering the sword and," he laughed, "the 'thing'."  
  
"I don't see what's so funny."  
  
"Ai! Legolas! The 'thing'," he began, fighting to keep from laughing, "'tis Glorfindel!" At that he couldn't help it anymore and he burst out laughing.  
  
"That is why Asfaloth seemed so excited to see it… I mean him," the elf said, then he began to laugh as well.  
  
The Ranger nodded and looked over at 'the thing' then said, loud enough for Glorfindel to hear, not that that was loud since he was an elf, "Either that, or the mighty balrog slayer has been eaten by 'the thing'." At this, he snorted slightly, then burst into laughter, quickly followed by Legolas, which highly annoyed the mud-covered elf.  
  
Glorfindel stood up and, with a flick of the wrist, spattered the two laughing on the ground. Aragorn slowly stopped his laughing and hand the elf his water flask and a clean rag. The elf gratefully took these and quickly wiped the mud off his face than spat out a pile of mud and gasped.  
  
"Do you… have… any idea," he started between gasps, "how hard… it is to… breathe through mud?"  
  
The Ranger smiled and said to Legolas. 

"We should bring him back to camp and see if there are any elves there who are the same size and happen to have a spar tunic." He smirked at the elf who scowled at him, "alright fine," the man said with a shrug, "but don't blame me when that mud hardens and you can barely move."  
  
Glorfindel sighed, "Fine, let us go."  
  
When they got back to the camp and Glorfindel was changed, they pulled out the extra cooking pot and warmed up some water. Aragorn brought it over to   
where Glorfindel was sitting and placed it beside him before sitting down next to the elf.  
  
"Here," he started with a smirk, "thought you might want to wash your hair, you look like you're wearing a helmet… you know… it could probably be used   
as one."  
  
Glorfindel smacked Aragorn upside the head and quickly washed the mud out of his hair and off his hands.  
  
"You know, I must ask," Aragorn said once the elf was finished, "how did you come to be covered in mud?"  


"You."  
  
"What?" the startled man asked.  
  
"Your incredibly loud yelp startled Asfaloth and," he grimaced, "he caught me off guard and threw me into a huge mud puddle."  
  
"You are never going to hear the end of this Glor," Legolas said, who happened to be in the same tree the two were leaning against, "but, hey, at least Aragorn didn't help you wash your hair," he glared at the Ranger. "I still have to pay you back for that, and don't think I'll forget!"  
  
The Ranger snickered and Glorfindel glanced up into the tree, an eyebrow raised.  
  
"He drenched me from this same tree just before we found you… don't tell me your so bad at observing things that you don't realize I'm still wet!" Legolas exclaimed wickedly. Glorfindel just glared up at the elf.  
  
"Ah, yes," Aragorn murmured, "then he tried to kill me… but the look on his face when it happened was totally worth it!" He finished cheerfully.  
  
"Ooooh, just for that, I'm going to make your life miserable," Legolas grinned wickedly, "you are going to be begging for mercy by the time I'm done with you."  
  
"Don't be so sure," the Ranger put on the same face as the elf.  
  
"Oh no, I'm scared, what can you do other that soak me?"  
  
"Actually Legolas," Glorfindel cut in, "that is the least original prank I have ever seen this boy do. You're walking into a one-sided battle."  
  
"Yup, I know," Legolas stated, "my side is the winning side."  
  
Glorfindel shook his head, amused, "This should be good… it'll be like watching the twins while in a fight… very amusing."  
  
Aragorn grinned, "I do believe we should head back to Rivendell."  
  
"Yes, but don't you two do anything to each other that will slow us down," Glorfindel added.  
  
Aragorn sighed, "Darn."  
  
Legolas jumped and glared at the man, "What evil are you planning human?"  
  
"I couldn't tell you, if I did, it wouldn't be as easy to get you with it."  
  
"It will probably be a couple days before we get to Imladris, it might be a good idea to send your troops back to Mirkwook, 'tis quite a big one, and though I have no doubt that Imladris would find room for them but…" the golden-haired elf drifted off.  
  
Legolas grinned, "I get the point, I'll send them back and come with you, 'tis been a while since I have last laid eyes on your home." With that, the Prince of Mirkwood headed off to tell his group to head back to Mirkwood and that he'd head back in week or two. The elves nodded and headed off reluctantly. All but Raenan who saw it his duty to be sure the Prince home safely after this. Aragorn smiled, anyone with eyes could see that they were close friends, though the shorter elf did the things he did for duty, you could tell he'd want to do them even if he didn't have to.  
  
"Let's go before it gets dark shall we?" The Ranger asked, smiling.  
  
"Yes, we should head off," Glorfindel answered and, lifting his pack, headed if into the trees with the younger elves and human following him.  
  
While they walked that day, the human thought of as many tricks he could play on Legolas and used them as soon as he saw fit.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
- I can't believe my luck, - Aragorn thought, grinning, - last watch, this is the perfect time to start my tricks on Legolas. -  
  
First, he emptied the elf's pack, memorizing what order everything went in, and filled the bottom with the heaviest rocks he could find, then put everything back in, in the order it came out, only backwards. Then, he took out the elf's water bottle and filled it with salt, then held it over the dying fire to heat it, at shook it so that the salt would dissolve into the water. He carefully placed it exactly where it was before and looked around for something else to use against the elf. He walked up to a pine and gathered some of the dead needle from under it and dumped them in the elf's hair.  
  
He snickered to himself silently, - He is going to have so much trouble getting those out. –  
  
After that he sat back down and emptied his pack, deciding to save the rest of his pranks for the next night. He examined everything in his pack, testing them to make sure the elf didn't do anything to them. He glanced around the camp, despite having his fun he was still listening and he looked up when he heard someone moving and grinned when he found Glorfindel looking at him with an eyebrow raised, the look on his face seemed to say 'why aren't you torturing Legolas yet?'  
  
'I've already finished torturing him,' he mouthed. The older elf just shook his head and went back to sleep. – You have seen me in action, you have seen how I work, you will pay, - Aragorn grinned, - well, actually I just feel like it… 'tis been a while since I've been able to pull anything on you. –  
  
The man thought for a minute and smiled wickedly. He pulled out an extra cloak, - thank goodness these Elven cloaks are waterproof. - He quickly ran off, not too far, but out to the first stream he could find, which wasn't that far away. And filled the cloak, tying the sleeves closed first and then closed it up so it couldn't leak and pulled it up into the tree directly above Glorfindel, he tied it there slinging a rope over a tree to hold the open end up and then carefully tying the other end to the back of Glorfindel's tunic. When he was done that, amazingly without waking Glorfindel, he took off his cloak and filled it with a ton of dirt, then put the dirt in the water in the tree and mixed it. I can't wait 'till he wakes up. He carefully climbed out of the tree and sat down to take guard until   
the three elves woke up.  
  
He quickly glanced at Raenan, - you're lucky I can't think of anything to do to you… but I will… eventually. –  
  
Being too dark to see, well, anything other than the slightly glowing forms of the elves, he closed his eyes and listened, focusing on tearing blades of grass into really small pieces to keep awake. Finally it became light enough for him to see properly and he opened his eyes and stood up. He waited for a minute and then went to clean his cloak off, since it was still covered in dirt. He carefully cleaned it, brought it back to the camp and let it dry.  
  
Aragorn sighed quietly and smiled. After he'd dried his cloak he'd gotten… bored… and that can only lead to one thing… trouble. He'd gotten bored so   
he went and attached Legolas' pack to the hardened ground. It would be interesting watching the elf struggle with the heavy pack but watching him trying to just lift it would be even more interesting. He snickered under his breath and glanced up at the sky, they should be up soon. He looked at his contraption above Glorfindel's head in the tree, glanced at Legolas' pack and grinned wickedly. This should be fun.  
  
  
  
  
A/N  
  
Every chapter I write from now on will be devoted to my reviewers... 1 of them and my editor... all my chapters r devoted to u AOD! This chapter is   
also devoted to the reviewer who has given me the most reviews and has reviewed every one of my chapters so far... so thank you feanen for continuing to review!!! Anyone would be thrilled to have a reviewer like u, so thank you mellonamin! Keep reviewin'!  
  
mascara freak- ...crap... I'M GONNA DIE!!!!!!!!! ... where'd that come from????? AAAAAnywho... I guess if yur willin' to go that far u must like it so I guess it's kinda good... half n' half i guess... No pro 4 reviewin' though... ur doin' a good job in yur writtin'! Keep it up!  
  
leggylover03- Will update soon!  
  
Sunnflowers- *panic's as well* WITHDRAWL!!!!!!!!!!?????????????? *screams* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *giggles* don't worry, I don't intend to discontinue if that's what you're worried about... just didn't send the chapter to my friend as soon as I thought I would... *shrugs* no big... Sorry.  
  
LalaithoftheBruinen- Glad you loved it! *glances around* more food 4 bunnies!!! *gulps* don't think it's enough... they're kinda... ummm... you understand... right?  
  
feanen- *giggles* Glad u liked the reaction... :)  
  
Sorry this chapter took so long... I'll try to post sooner. :) Glad you're all enjoying it though!  
  
*pouts* pwease peoplez... help me out here! I need prank ideas and yur not really helping right now... *hangs head but sighs* Oh well... I've got my Estel! *grins happily*  


marbienl- sorry 'bout that... never really thought to go through all that... :) Fixed it though, will now except reviews from everyone, hmm, didn't realize it was like that... oh well, thankx 4 tellin' me! Is that good? I write 'cause I like it. Thanx though, makes me feel special. :) As 4 ur question... I really don't know where Elladan is... but I think this told ya' where Glor is... *grins wickedly* poor widdle elfie... that_was_weird... I re-wrote the chapter????? I meant I re-wrote the thing where I asked 4 help wit' da' pranks... greak... now you've got me all confuzled :S But yes... *glances at bunnies* many bunnies... I think they're planning war against my kitties... RUN KITTIES RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sry, I'm kinda hyper... as usual :) Anywho... um... ah yes... "Goodbye social and real life!" Happy? *grins* just tryin' to make my reviewers happy! By the way... tying someone to their bed could be quite interesting... I might just have to do that... only... It must be made humilliating... hmmm... I'll have to think about this one... *grins evilly* Poor poor peoplez... how they're still alive, I'll never know...Aragorn- It's because you wont just let us die...

EK- I'd never kill my buddies!

Aragorn and Legolas- *groan* Someone save us...

EK- m'kay!  


A&L- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *run away*

EK- they're just scared I'll hurt'm again... which isn't completely false…yesssssssss precioussss... falssssse it is not... *blinks* did I just do a cross between Gollum and Yoda???? I need help... bad...  
  
leggylover03- more pain hmm? I'll think about that... 4 Legolas? Kat's gonna kill me *wicked gleam* oh well... note to self- beware Sky12...  
  
Lomiothiel- *thinks* maybe that is so BUT u still said u punched the air, and I wonder... whomever hit Elrohir will remain a mystery... sry 4 people who wanted to know. Legolas got the last laugh? This proves otherwise... well partially. *grins wickedly* Do u really think of me as a friend? In a way? Wow... this has many good points... torturing ur favorite peoplez (characters in normal peoplez minds *grins*) letting people read it and even kinda makin' friends... Yeah... I'm scarin' ya' now aren't I? *giggles but shrugs* oh well... I'm good at scarin' people... I don't even do it on purpose!  
  


  
R/R!!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

~*~Chapter 5~*~

Legolas, Glorfindel and Raenan woke up at the same time. Legolas and Raenan got up right away but Glorfindel still lay in his bedroll, staring up into the tree. Aragorn was suddenly glad he'd taken the care to hide the 'trap'. Legolas looked at the older elf for a minute, then shrugged and started rolling up his bedroll.

Glorfindel shook his head slightly and hid a smile, "Estel, come here for a second please."

Aragorn jumped slightly and walked over hiding a smile, "Yes?"

When Aragorn got close enough, Glorfindel's slight smile turned to a wicked grin and he rolled under the human, tripping him and throwing him to where he was laying before. Aragorn landed with a thump right where Glorfindel was before, he was about to stand up when… well… SPLAT! He was covered from head to toe in mud. Glorfindel snickered and looked over to where Legolas and Raenan were sitting, the two of them were glancing back and forth between Aragorn and Glorfindel, not understanding what just happened. The three snickered as Aragorn stumbled to his feet.

"Come on Estel, you should know better than to try that with me," Glorfindel said.

"Whatever… but… then again… I think this has already happened to you," Aragorn answered.

Glorfindel rolled his eyes and, glancing at Legolas, shook his head and rolled up his bedroll quickly, - Estel needs more training in sneaking up on people, he didn't even know I was awake! –

- I don't get it; I know it was hidden well enough not to be able to see, even for an elf. The only way he could have known was if… - Aragorn paused and spun around to face Glorfindel, "You were awake weren't you!?"

Glorfindel snickered, "Took you long enough to figure that one out. Besides, do you know how hard it is to wash mud out of blond hair? At least with you, you can't tell the difference."

Aragorn snorted, "Maybe, but, sometimes that's a good thing… 'tis harder to get in trouble with _ada_."

"I don't mean the color hides it… I mean it's always so messy, a little mud wouldn't make a difference," with that, Glorfindel turned with a look on his face that screamed success… well… that is until a huge handful of mud hit the older elf in the back. He stopped and spun around… only to be met with a face-full of mud and a sneering Aragorn. Glorfindel looked as if he was about to pounce on the man, and almost did, but Legolas quickly stepped in between the two.

"Come on you two, we need to get to Imladris… hopefully in one piece this time," he grinned. Glorfindel raised an eyebrow, then, giving Aragorn a look that clearly meant 'I'll deal with you later' walked over to his pack and finished stuffing all his stuff into it. Legolas nodded once then went back to closing his pack. Aragorn grinned wickedly when Legolas went to lift his pack and couldn't. He didn't grip the handle tight enough and his grip slipped and… well… he ended up on his butt. He blinked in surprise and glared at the pack. The elf stood up and brushed him-self off, trying to hold onto his last shred of dignity. He braced himself and pulled up on the pack. When it finally popped out of the ground, he was back on the ground, only this time the pack was on top of him. He grunted under the weight and lifted it off of him and onto his back.

- Why is this thing so much heavier?! – He thought, - I've already lost most of my dignity, I'm not complaining, I'm not losing the rest of it. -

Glorfindel cocked an eyebrow at Aragorn and moved beside him.

"If we make it half way to Imladris without him noticing, then you can't kill me… deal?" Aragorn asked, so quietly that if the older elf weren't right next to him, he wouldn't have heard him.

"If he notices?" the elf asked, slightly louder so the man could hear him.

"If he notices, then I'll stable and wash down your horse when we get back… just once though… no more after that."

Glorfindel paused a moment then grinned, "Okay, that sounds about how much your life is worth."

That earned him a punch in the shoulder. Asfaloth nickered and trotted up in between the two, which made them both laugh.

Glorfindel and Aragorn were walking near the back of the group. Aragorn watched Legolas the whole time, snickering to himself when he watched the elf stumble under the weight. He did so as quietly as possible so as not to draw attention to himself. Though he still helped the poor elf to his feet when he fell backwards. After that he quickly went back to the back of the group, he couldn't risk anyone seeing the mischievous glint in his eyes.

Aragorn gave Glorfindel an evil look as they made it half way to Rivendell, "Glor, guess what… I win."

Glorfindel just made a face at the man and smiled, "Oh well."

"I think I'm beginning to feel sorry for Legolas though… do you think I should help him? Or should I let him suffer?"

"That's up to you," Glorfindel replied, trying not to laugh.

Aragorn thought for a moment and grinned, "I think I've got him good enough, I'll go help the poor little elf."

Glorfindel just shook his head and grinned as the human jogged forward and slowed next to the stumbling elf, who happened to be opening his water flask at that moment.

"Hey Legolas, looks like you're having some trouble with your pack," the man started.

Hearing this Legolas straightened, "No trouble what-so-ever."

"Really?" he tried to sound disappointed, "I would have thought you would have some."

The elf's eyes widened as he realized what the man had said, "What did you do to my pack!?"

Aragorn feigned surprise, "Me?" then grinned wickedly, "I only filled the bottom of your pack with rocks," he ducked as the Prince attempted to smack him in the head.

Legolas rolled his eyes slightly and brought the flask up to his mouth… and froze mid-step for a moment before swallowing and continuing on, a disgusted look on his face. He narrowed his eyes at the man who grinned, the look in his eyes telling the elf all he needed to know.

"YOU WILL PAY HUMAN!" Legolas yelled, of course that caused everyone to look over at him but he'd already dropped his pack and was running in the direction Aragorn had taken off in. Glorfindel just smiled and shook his head, then he went up next to Raenan with Asfaloth to continue leading the 'group'.

Aragorn continued running until he saw a branch over-hanging the path. Grinning, he made sure Legolas was following and pulled himself into the tree. Legolas easily leaped up into the tree after him, he opened his mouth to say something, but the man covered his mouth and motioned for him to be quiet. Legolas cocked an eyebrow in question but the human was already making his way towards a nearby stream. In a little while he came back with a small pot-full of water. He passed it up to Legolas and quickly took up a position on the branch where no one could see him from below. He took the pot from Legolas and waited.

"What are you doing?" Legolas asked, still quite annoyed with the rock and salt-water thing.

Aragorn sighed, "I'm getting back at Glorfindel for dumping mud on me."

Legolas snickered, "You know, technically, it was your fault."

Aragorn grinned and rolled his eyes, "Possibly, but *he* pushed me into it."

Legolas rolled his eyes and was about to say something when Aragorn made him quiet down and pointed down the path, "Here he comes."

Aragorn was quite uneasy, it wasn't the tree he minded, it was the fact that he'd never tried any pranks on an elf that was awake, he wasn't sure if he could possibly be quiet enough. As the two elves and the horse approached, he froze in place and didn't dare move, not until they were right underneath, at that point a huge grin was on his face and he dumped the pot of water right on the unsuspecting elf below.

Glorfindel froze and blinked a couple times and looked up into the tree. Legolas grinned, this was his chance to get the human back. He quietly slipped in behind him and pushed him out of the tree. Glorfindel let out a yelp of surprise, as did Aragorn, as the human landed on top of him. The man groaned, rolled off the elf and stood up.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" He yelled out towards the tree. Glorfindel stood and brushed himself off… well… as well as possible when you're soaked.

Glorfindel quickly grabbed the human before he could get back into the tree. He grinned and shook his head, "Legolas get down here."

Legolas reluctantly dropped out of the tree and grinned at the man trying desperately to pull away from the older elf. At that moment Legolas noticed the evil grin on Glorfindel's face and immediately knew it was a mistake to come out of the tree. Glorfindel let Aragorn go and the man immediately took chase after the fleeing elf.

"That's what you get for not warning me!" Glorfindel called as they took off ahead, "come on Raenan, we'd better hurry if we want to keep up with those two."

With that the elf leaped onto Asfaloth's back, dragging the younger elf with him and with a word the white horse jumped forward to follow the two runaways.

"Legolas! Glorfindel said nothing that could slow us down… that could have if I got hurt," Aragorn rolled his eyes at how dumb he sounded.

Legolas looked back at him and cocked an eyebrow, "So is the Ranger finally admitting he's not as good as me?"

Aragorn scowled playfully, "Never!"

"Hey, I was just getting you back for the rocks," Legolas yelled back at him.

"How? By trying to get me to admit you're better, which you're not, or by pushing me out of the tree?"

Legolas paused a minute, pretending to think, "Both."

The look on the man's face at that made the elf laugh, enough so that when the other two elves came up behind him, he didn't hear them. Glorfindel gracefully slid from his horse without a sound and Asfaloth, seeming to understand that the elf was trying to do something, made not a sound. The older elf moved with one swift movement, forward and well, lets just say that Legolas ended up… a little sore.

The Prince of Mirkwood quickly pulled himself out of the thorn bush and immediately began plucking off the thorns that had decided to stick into him, growling as he did so.

"That doesn't sound like the way a prince of Mirkwook should sound," Glorfindel laughed.

"Oh, really? Well, most elves would think it quite irresponsible for an elf lord to push younger ones into evil bushes," Legolas bit back, a hint of mirth in his eyes.

Glorfindel feigned hurt for a moment before shrugging and mounting Asfaloth, "Come on, we must get to Imladris now, we are but a few moments away.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Elrond sighed when he saw the four of them come up the path. He went out to greet them, his twin sons right on his heals, Elrohir now sporting a bandage around his arm where he'd been shot. Both of the twins were giggling at Glorfindel's soaked appearance and Legolas' torn clothing and scratched hands. The other two were dirty, but those two looked hilarious.

"Come inside, you should get cleaned up," Elrond told them, struggling to keep a straight face.

They all nodded and headed inside.

"You haven't won yet _tithen er_," Legolas hissed at the man who smirked. // little one, //

"Maybe, but, Legolas," the Ranger started, "in a week, I'm heading out with the Ranger's for a few years."

Legolas glanced sadly at the man, "Yes, Elrond told me on the way in, I have training to attend to in Mirkwook as well."

"Well, let us have fun before that time comes," Aragorn grinned wickedly, "I'm thinking of two words… brothers… torture."

The End

A/N 

**LalaithoftheBruinen- I finally found out what your name means! I never thought to look it up 'till now but, anyway, I'm glad you liked that chapter and you are NOT an idiot! You've probably got a ton of reviews and I know it can be hard to remember who sent what… and YAY! Rabbit food! Now they'll stop eating my pants!**

**mascara freak- *sighs* No socks for me… *sobs* Well, keep reviewin'! AND THANK YOU 4 NOT WANTING TO KILL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even it it's only so I can write! ^_-**

**lix-ten-las- Hey! Welcome to MY insane asylum! And yes, too many people hold his lineage too high. But hey, the angst scenes are, like, the best! Right up there with the pranks!**

**marbienl- He MIGHT plan revenge… but you know… it's always best to strike when they least expect it *evil grin* I liked the salt thing… even though I thought it up on the spot. ^_-**

**leggylover03- *rolls eyes* There WILL be more, I promise… *wicked grin***

**Lomiothiel- *sighs* fine, you CAN'T hurt air… but you CAN hurt the bugs in the air!!!!!!!!!!!! But nooooooooooo… I 'don't' think I'll kill him JUST yet… LOL! Actually, I don't intend to kill him… EVER!!!!!!!!!!!! J**

**feanen- Lol, I loved the mud thing! It was the only thing in my stories I really liked. So I'm really glad someone mentioned it!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**d- I'm sorry, I'm NOT sure if I spelt that right… lol! I'm glad you love it! And I'm sorry if you tried to review before, I didn't realize I had the settings on signed reviews only… well, keep reviewin' and welcome to my insane asylum! Lol! ^_-**

**Thank you Pyro for helpin' me! Even though you had had this chapter for… I forget how long… but you said u liked it sooooo… yeah… well, thanx!**

**I'M REALLY SORRY EVERYONE FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Yes! There will be a sequel! It is longer than these 2 as well so… ^_^ YAY! It will be called 'Time and Memory' so, yeah!**

**Namaarie!!!!!!!!!!**

**~Elenmeoi**


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